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The Burgundians

A Vanished Empire: A History of 1111 Years and One Day

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About this listen

At the end of the fifteenth century, Burgundy was extinguished as an independent state. It had been a fabulously wealthy, turbulent region situated between France and Germany, with close links to the English kingdom. Torn apart by the dynastic struggles of early modern Europe, this extraordinary realm vanished from the map. But it became the cradle of what we now know as the Low Countries, modern Belgium and the Netherlands.

This is the story of a thousand years, a must-listen narrative history of ambitious aristocrats, family dysfunction, treachery, savage battles, luxury, and madness. It is about the decline of knightly ideals and the awakening of individualism and of cities, the struggle for dominance in the heart of northern Europe, bloody military campaigns, and fatally bad marriages. It is also a remarkable cultural history, of great art and architecture and music emerging despite the violence and the chaos of the tension between rival dynasties.

©2019 Bart Van Loo (P)2023 Tantor Europe France Medieval Military Middle Ages Western Europe Imperialism Royalty
All stars
Most relevant
When the English think of Burgundy they think of wine and food and not the impact the area has had on European history. This book brings that to history to life. I learnt a great deal and I am now looking to visit Bruges, Ghent, Michelin and Dijon to see where the Dukes and their peoples lived.

Excellent history

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a good narrative history, somewhat compromised by the arthurs frequent divergence into way too much info about art, and a somewhat Christian bias.

decent history

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I do love a history book that radically shifts your perspective on relatively familiar events.

Here, by grounding your viewpoint from that once influential chunk of land that was Burgundy - including that bit the wine comes from in what is now France and the older kingdom including bits of Switzerland and the Low Countries of what is now Belgium and the Netherlands - you get a very different understanding of the politics of the Hundred Years War, the Holy Roman Empire, and late medieval Europe as a whole.

The whole experience was rather disconcerting, if I'm honest. Which is why, though this is quite possibly five stars, I've left it as four. I'll need a re-read to confirm - because TBH there was so much unfamiliar material and ideas in here that I found it hard to follow the flow at times. This is, I think, more due to my ignorance than the book itself - but was likely worsened by listening to the audiobook without a physical copy to hand to check maps / the index / skip back to check things, etc etc.

The narrator does a good job of the Dutch/Flemish names, but his voice is a tad high pitched and grating at times. Made it a little hard to keep focused.

Fascinating alternative angle on medieval Europe

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The author really managed to create a lively depiction of the historic characters involved, including the ‘word on the street’. It gave an insight I didn’t expect and provoked a need to visit the area described with all these places that were the background of these politics, business and personal drama.

The narrator did surely his best with the dutch pronunciation but there is room for improvement. For a native dutch it is a lot of stumbling to disregard. But a very good narration otherwise!

Most enjoyable history

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Reads like an exciting novel. Excellent stuff. He really brings the era to life

superb Read

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